Chavis Carter ‘Suicide’ Reenactment Video Released By Jonesboro Police

By Trymaine Lee for the Huffington Post

The Arkansas police department investigating the mysterious death of Chavis Carter, who suffered a fatal gunshot wound to the head while handcuffed in the back of a police car, has released a video recreation of what it believes could have happened the night Carter was killed.

{See the video recreation here.} 

Jonesboro police say the 21 year old shot himself not long after being pulled over and detained on July 29, after two police searches uncovered a small amount of marijuana but no weapon. Carter was placed in the rear of a squad car. Not long after, police say one of two officers on the scene smelled smoke, opened the car’s rear door and found Carter slumped over and bloodied. The police say a small handgun and a spent cartridge were found in the backseat with Carter.

[…]

Carter’s family and supporters believe the police killed Carter and are now attempting to cover it up. Teresa Carter, Carter’s mother, claims that while her son was shot in the right temple, he was left-handed. And that he made a phone call during the initial traffic stop in which he told his girlfriend that he would call her from jail, behavior that Carter’s supporters say is counter to that of a suicidal person.

[…]

Meanwhile, community pressure continues to mount on the police department and Yates, whose resignation has been called for by local community activists.

The Arkansas Chapter of the Commission on Religion and Racism scheduled a march Tuesday morning in Jonesboro. And others have claimed that Yates’ past racially-tinged brush ups with the black community have clouded this already mysterious case.

Read more about Yates’ past and the Carter case here.

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